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Thursday, September 08, 2016
Google has long taken astrong stanceagainst linksthat manipulate a site's PageRank.
Today we would like to reiterate our policy on the creation of keyword-rich, hidden or low-quality
links embedded in widgets that are distributed across various sites.
Widgets can help website owners enrich the experience of their site and engage users. However,
some widgets add links to a site that a webmaster did not editorially place and contain anchor
text that the webmaster does not control. Because these links are not naturally placed, they're
considered a violation of Google Webmaster Guidelines.
Below you can find the examples of widgets which contain links that violate Google Webmaster
Guidelines:
Google's webspam team may takemanual actionsonunnatural links. When a manual
action is taken, Google will notify the site owners throughSearch Console. If you
receive such a warning for unnatural links to your site and you use links in widgets to promote
your site, we recommend resolving these issues and requesting reconsideration.
You can resolve issues with unnatural links by making sure they don't pass PageRank. To do this,
add arel="nofollow"attribute on the widget links or remove the links entirely.
After fixing or removing widget links and any other unnatural links to your site, let Google know
about your change bysubmitting a reconsideration request in Search Console.
Once the request has been reviewed, you'll get a notification about whether the reconsideration
request was successful or not.
Also, we would like to remind webmasters who use widgets on their sites to check those widgets for
any unnatural links. Add arel="nofollow"attribute on those unnatural links or
remove the links entirely from the widget.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle's guidelines prohibit using widgets to create keyword-rich, hidden, or low-quality links for manipulating PageRank.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUnnatural links from widgets violate Google's guidelines and may result in manual actions against the site.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWebsite owners should add \u003ccode\u003erel="nofollow"\u003c/code\u003e to or remove unnatural links within widgets to resolve the issue.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWebmasters using widgets on their sites should ensure they don't contain unnatural links and take action if found.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAfter fixing unnatural links, submit a reconsideration request through Google Search Console.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Google reiterated its policy against unnatural links, specifically those embedded in widgets. Such links, often keyword-rich and placed without webmaster control, violate Webmaster Guidelines. Google may issue manual actions and notify site owners via Search Console. Webmasters should either add a `rel=\"nofollow\"` attribute to widget links or remove them entirely. After rectifying unnatural links, submit a reconsideration request in Search Console. Widget users should review and correct any unnatural links.\n"],null,["# A reminder about widget links\n\nThursday, September 08, 2016\n\n\nGoogle has long taken a\n[strong stance](/search/blog/2013/02/a-reminder-about-selling-links)\n[against links](/search/blog/2012/07/new-notifications-about-inbound-links)\n[that manipulate a site's PageRank](/search/blog/2008/10/linking-out-often-its-just-applying).\nToday we would like to reiterate our policy on the creation of keyword-rich, hidden or low-quality\nlinks embedded in widgets that are distributed across various sites.\n\n\nWidgets can help website owners enrich the experience of their site and engage users. However,\nsome widgets add links to a site that a webmaster did not editorially place and contain anchor\ntext that the webmaster does not control. Because these links are not naturally placed, they're\nconsidered a violation of Google Webmaster Guidelines.\n\n\nBelow you can find the examples of widgets which contain links that violate Google Webmaster\nGuidelines:\n\n\nGoogle's webspam team may take\n[manual actions](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2604824)\non [unnatural links](/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies#link-spam). When a manual\naction is taken, Google will notify the site owners through\n[Search Console](https://search.google.com/search-console). If you\nreceive such a warning for unnatural links to your site and you use links in widgets to promote\nyour site, we recommend resolving these issues and requesting reconsideration.\n\n\nYou can resolve issues with unnatural links by making sure they don't pass PageRank. To do this,\nadd a `rel=\"nofollow\"` attribute on the widget links or remove the links entirely.\nAfter fixing or removing widget links and any other unnatural links to your site, let Google know\nabout your change by\n[submitting a reconsideration request in Search Console](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35843).\nOnce the request has been reviewed, you'll get a notification about whether the reconsideration\nrequest was successful or not.\n\n\nAlso, we would like to remind webmasters who use widgets on their sites to check those widgets for\nany unnatural links. Add a `rel=\"nofollow\"` attribute on those unnatural links or\nremove the links entirely from the widget.\n\n\nFor more information, please watch our\n[video about widget links](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chuhSmwsL7s)\nand refer to our\n[Webmaster Guidelines on Link Schemes](/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies#link-spam).\nAdditionally, you can ask questions in our\n[Webmaster Help Forums](https://support.google.com/webmasters/go/community),\nwhere a community of webmasters can help with their experience.\n\n\nPosted by Agnieszka Łata, Trust and Safety Search Team and Eric Kuan, Webmaster Relations\nSpecialist"]]
